At first the company will be building the Desert Storm, Thunderbird 350, and the Thunderbird 500 in the new plant. Later, the other machines including the most awaited bike of RE, the Classic 350 will also be manufactured here.
The new plant was completed in just 11 months and is five times bigger than the old plant, which is capable to produce only 70,000 units of machines annually. So, along with the new plant, the total production units of RE has been jumped to 2,20,000 units per year. It is expected to reach 2.5 lakh units by 2014, when the second phase of the new plant is completed.
The hike is production is expected to decrease the delivery delay of the RE motorcycles. At present, customers have to wait as much as 14 months to get delivered the most demanded bike of Royal Enfield and the country, the Classic 350.
Along with the new plant, a new CED (Cathodic Electrocoat Deposition) paint shop with a capacity to work on 600 motorcycles per day, and a robotic painting system and powder coating system to reduce wastage have been set up.
"At Royal Enfield we have recorded a major milestone today with this plant at Oragadam becoming operational. Royal Enfield has witnessed a huge surge in demand in the recent past, recording a growth of over 50 per cent for each of the last two years. However, even as we start commercial production today, we have already begun working on the second phase of expansion at Oragadam, which will further increase the production capacity to 250,000 motorcycles in 2014," said Mr. Siddhartha Lal, Eicher Motors Managing Director and CEO.
"We have re-tooled many of the parts that make up our motorcycles - so that they are of exacting accuracy and finish. The ability to increase capacity fast is a crucial step for Royal Enfield towards meeting our global ambitions. While we are adding new models and new dealerships in the Indian market, we are also working on building our presence globally," added Mr. Lal.
